ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Russian tanker carrying much-needed fuel for the iced-in Alaska city of Nome was less than 190 miles away on Saturday and was making slow but steady progress, a company official said.
The city of about 3,500 people on the western Alaska coastline normally gets fuel by barge. But it didn’t get its last pre-winter fuel delivery because of a massive storm and it could run out of crucial supplies before spring.
The 370-foot tanker was carrying more than 1.3 million gallons of fuel and was being shepherded through hundreds of miles of sea ice by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The ship is scheduled to arrive later Monday or perhaps even Tuesday. If the mission is successful, it will be the first time petroleum products have been delivered by sea to a Western Alaska community in winter.
Denver Post wire services
